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Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Byrne D, Riley TV. Genomic Analysis of Clostridioides difficile Recovered from Horses in Western Australia. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1743. [PMID: 37512915 PMCID: PMC10386058 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile poses an ongoing threat as a cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Traditionally considered a human healthcare-related disease, increases in community-associated C. difficile infection (CDI) and growing evidence of inter-species transmission suggest a wider perspective is required for CDI control. In horses, C. difficile is a major cause of diarrhoea and life-threatening colitis. This study aimed to better understand the epidemiology of CDI in Australian horses and provide insights into the relationships between horse, human and environmental strains. A total of 752 faecal samples from 387 Western Australian horses were collected. C. difficile was isolated from 104 (30.9%) horses without gastrointestinal signs and 19 (37.8%) with gastrointestinal signs. Of these, 68 (55.3%) harboured one or more toxigenic strains, including C. difficile PCR ribotypes (RTs) 012 (n = 14), 014/020 (n = 10) and 087 (n = 7), all prominent in human infection. Whole-genome analysis of 45 strains identified a phylogenetic cluster of 10 closely related C. difficile RT 012 strains of equine, human and environmental origin (0-62 SNP differences; average 23), indicating recent shared ancestry. Evidence of possible clonal inter-species transmission or common-source exposure was identified for a subgroup of three horse and one human isolates, highlighting the need for a One Health approach to C. difficile surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasza M R Hain-Saunders
- Centre for Biosecurity, and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Daniel R Knight
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
- PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Mieghan Bruce
- Centre for Biosecurity, and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - David Byrne
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Thomas V Riley
- Centre for Biosecurity, and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
- PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
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Thompson K, Taylor J, Mendez D, Chicken C, Carrick J, Durrheim DN. Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:1017452. [PMID: 36590817 PMCID: PMC9797739 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1017452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
There are almost 9,500 full-time employees in Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry. During foaling, they can be exposed to bodily fluids and mucous membranes which may present risks for zoonotic disease. These risks can be mitigated through personal biosecurity strategies. The aim of this study was to identify which personal biosecurity strategies were more or less likely to be adopted by workers. Seventeen participants representing 14 thoroughbred breeding farms and three equine veterinary practices in Australia's largest thoroughbred breeding region trialed up to 16 stakeholder-nominated personal biosecurity strategies over the 2021 foaling season. The strategies encompassed personal protective equipment (PPE), zoonotic disease awareness, policies and protocols, supportive environments, and leadership. Strategy adoption was monitored through three repeated self-audit surveys designed around the Transtheoretical Model of change (TTM) and findings were reviewed in exit interviews. For all survey waves in aggregate, 13 strategies were practiced by at least 50.0% of participants. Participants were most likely to use a ready-made foaling box (98.0%), communicate the message that PPE usage is a personal responsibility (94.1%) and use ready-made PPE kits (88.2%). However, 31.4% had no intention of doing practice sessions and/or dummy runs for PPE use and 27.5% had no intention of using a buddy system on farm/practice to check use of PPE. Whilst these rates indicate workers' willingness to adopt and maintain personal biosecurity strategies, they also indicate capacity for more practices to be implemented more often. Overall, the findings highlight the need for personal biosecurity interventions to be sensitive to the demands of the annual thoroughbred breeding calendar, the size of the breeding operation and the availability of skilled staff.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirrilly Thompson
- Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, Australia,College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia,*Correspondence: Kirrilly Thompson
| | - Joanne Taylor
- Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, Australia,College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Diana Mendez
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Catherine Chicken
- Consultant Veterinarian, Scone Equine Hospital, Scone, NSW, Australia
| | - Joan Carrick
- Equine Specialist Consulting, Scone, NSW, Australia
| | - David N. Durrheim
- Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW, Australia,College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
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Williams NJ, Slovis NM, Browne NS, Troedsson MHT, Giguėre S, Hernandez JA. Enterococcus durans
infection and diarrhea in Thoroughbred foals. Vet Med (Auckl) 2022; 36:2224-2229. [DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Steeve Giguėre
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- Department of Large Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | - Jorge A. Hernandez
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
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Carvalho GM, Ramos CP, Lobato FCF, Guedes RMC, Giaretta PR, Silva ROS. Laboratory diagnosis of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection in domestic animals: A short review. Anaerobe 2022; 75:102574. [PMID: 35472506 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2022.102574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite the known importance of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) in animals, there are no published guidelines for the diagnosis of CDI. The performance of the available commercial methods, all standardized for human stool samples, can vary according to the animal species. Thus, the aim of the present study was to review the literature on the detection of C. difficile in pigs, horses, and dogs. The detection of toxins A and B using enzyme immunoassays seems to have low performance in piglet and dog samples, while it shows high sensitivity for the diagnosis of CDI in foals. On the other hand, tests for the detection of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) have a high sensitivity towards detection of C. difficile in animal samples, suggesting that it can be an adequate screening method. A few studies have evaluated real-time PCR or nucleic acid amplification tests in animal samples and, so far, these methods have also shown a low performance for the detection of C. difficile in animals. Although the intestinal lesions caused by CDI can vary among animal species, histopathology can be a useful auxiliary tool for postmortem diagnosis in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Muniz Carvalho
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Carolina Pantuzza Ramos
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Francisco Carlos Faria Lobato
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Roberto Maurício Carvalho Guedes
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Paula Roberta Giaretta
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Otávio Silveira Silva
- Veterinary School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627. Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP, 31270-901, Brazil.
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Hain‐Saunders N, Knight DR, Bruce M, Riley TV. Clostridioides difficile
infection and One Health: An Equine Perspective. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:985-997. [PMID: 35001483 PMCID: PMC9304292 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile presents a significant health risk to humans and animals. The complexity of the bacterial–host interaction affecting pathogenesis and disease development creates an ongoing challenge for epidemiological studies, control strategies and prevention planning. The recent emergence of human disease caused by strains of C. difficile found in animals adds to mounting evidence that C. difficile infection (CDI) may be a zoonosis. In equine populations, C. difficile is a known cause of diarrhoea and gastrointestinal inflammation, with considerable mortality and morbidity. This has a significant impact on both the well‐being of the animal and, in the case of performance and production animals, it may have an adverse economic impact on relevant industries. While C. difficile is regularly isolated from horses, many questions remain regarding the impact of asymptomatic carriage as well as optimization of diagnosis, testing and treatment. This review provides an overview of our understanding of equine CDI while also identifying knowledge gaps and the need for a holistic One Health approach to a complicated issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasza Hain‐Saunders
- Biosecurity and One Health Research Centre, Harry Butler Institute Murdoch University Murdoch Western Australia Australia
| | - Daniel R. Knight
- Biosecurity and One Health Research Centre, Harry Butler Institute Murdoch University Murdoch Western Australia Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Nedlands 6009 WA Australia
| | - Mieghan Bruce
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Centre for Biosecurity and One Health Murdoch University Murdoch Western Australia Australia
| | - Thomas V. Riley
- Biosecurity and One Health Research Centre, Harry Butler Institute Murdoch University Murdoch Western Australia Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Nedlands 6009 WA Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia Australia
- Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Nedlands Western Australia Australia
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Weese JS, Slovis N, Rousseau J. Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in neonatal foals and mares at a referral hospital. J Vet Intern Med 2021; 35:1140-1146. [PMID: 33656757 PMCID: PMC7995440 DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile is important for the development and assessment of infection prevention and control practices, as well as surveillance methods and interpretation of diagnostic testing results. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to longitudinally evaluate C. difficile shedding in neonatal foals and mares admitted to a referral hospital neonatal intensive care unit. ANIMALS Foals admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, along with their dams. METHODS Rectal swabs were collected from mares and foals at admission, and then approximately every 3 days, when possible. Selective culture for C. difficile was performed and isolates were characterized by toxin gene PCR and ribotyping. RESULTS Clostridium difficile was isolated from 103/409 (25%) samples; 65/208 (31%) from foals and 38/201 (19%) from mares. Cumulatively, C. difficile was isolated from at least 1 sample from 50/113 (44%) foals and 30/97 (31%) mares. No association was found between hospitalization day and isolation of C. difficile (P = .13). Twenty-three different ribotypes were identified, with ribotype 078 predominating. Fifteen foals had 2 positive samples during hospitalization. In only 6/15 (40%) foals was the same strain identified both times (5 ribotype 078 and 1 ribotype 012). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Clostridium difficile is an important pathogen in adult horses and foals, and our findings highlight the complexity surrounding the epidemiology of this opportunistic pathogen. It can be found commonly, transiently, and cluster within a facility in the absence of identifiable disease occurrences or clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Scott Weese
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nathan Slovis
- McGee Medical Center, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Joyce Rousseau
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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